The Saga Of The Phoenix
by peony-smilebomb-amethyst
Summary: "When you've seen as much as we have, you'll understand that smiling doesn't come as easy as it used to." He said. "And you begin to hate everything around you because you know you'll soon lose it all, anyway."
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: the only thing I own is a half busted computer and a psychotic personality. Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to… not me.**

_Also, I got the idea for this from many, many movies/cartoons/books, so if anything seems familiar; it's probably because you've heard it before._

_I made Botan human and surrounded the story around her because I think she was severely underdeveloped, and she could have had an interesting back-story. _

_Yeah, so Yusuke's gonna be a half-demon, so is Kurama and there might be some love triangle thing with them and Botan, so don't hate me, you were warned. _

_Anyway, let's get into it._

**Prologue**

"Botan! Botan, wake up!" her mother said as she shaked her sleeping daughter. The girl's amethyst eyes popped open and she awoke from her slumber.

"You're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry!" she said again.

Botan got up off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom. She took a shower, got dressed and left for school. While on her way, she met up with Keiko Yukimora, her best friend of ten years.

"Hey, B. How's it going?" the perky girl asked, throwing her arms around her friend.

"Hey pinks," Botan said, sounding tired. She had called Keiko 'pinks' ever since she met her, simply because the girl always wore something pink. This time it was a full suit of pink: complete with pink sneaker and a pink tote bag.

"What's with the long face? Nightmares again?" Keiko asked.

Botan nodded.

Keiko was about 5 foot four, was vey slim built and was the typical girl next door with brown hair and brown eyes. She was a cheerleader, student council president and a member of the Young Leaders Society. Botan, on the other hand, wasn't the typical "goody- goody", every boy's fantasy girl next door. She wasn't very tall, about 5 feet 2 inches and had sky blue hair and amethystine eyes. This was unusual, but she was born this way and would get extremely hostile when anyone would inquire about it. She was very defensive and frigid towards everyone at school. Her teachers called her obnoxious and rude and the students all called her 'ice princess' because of her lack of contact with the opposite sex. The teachers would always complain about her clothing as it was either too short or too tight and was almost always black. She was called a cynic by her mother and pessimistic by her friends. Botan didn't mind, in fact, she prided herself in being much worse.

On this particular day, Botan was wearing a pair of black shorts, knee high boots and an army green tank top with opened buttons in the front to reveal her lacy black bra.

"Do you ever wear anything that actually fits?" Keiko asked

"It's not like I'm putting on a show for anyone, it's just clothes." Botan said

"Well at least button your top. We wouldn't want to give Takanaka a heart attack, now would we?" Keiko asked.

"Promises, promises." Botan replied as they walked into Sarayasaki High School.

_OKAY, I KNOW IT OSN'T THE BEST EVER, BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET TO THE NEXT CHAPTER, PLEASE COMMENT. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT SAY SO BUT IF YOU DO, I DON'T MIND COMPLIMENTS. ANY SUGGESTIONS? PLEASE MAKE THEM_

_THANK YOU._

_Peony-Amethyst_


	2. Familiarity

**DISCLAIMER: the only thing I own is a half busted computer and a psychotic personality. Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to… not me.**

**Familiarity **

_Botan panted for air as she ran through the vast expanse of rugged terrain. She had no idea how she got there, or even why she was running. Then, a huge monstrosity made of rock howled behind her, hurling boulders at her. She began to panic, running as fast as she could…_

"Miss Konamei!" a voice shouted from behind her.

Botan awoke from her slumber. She looked up to see Mr. Evilmoto, the math teacher, with his arms folded.

"If you insist on sleeping, might I suggest a trip to the detention hall?" he said again.

"Why not? I practically live there, anyway." She replied, a scowl on her face, that defiant look in her eye.

"Why you ill mannered degenerate!" he shouted

She watched him turn red and walked out of the class, picking up her detention slip on the way out. She headed to the back of the school where a few students stood idly smoking.

"Hey Ice Princess, want a drag?" one of them said, handing her a cigarette.

"Come on, you know she doesn't smoke. It's too much work." A girl with long brown hair said. It was Shizuru Kuwabara, the sister of Kazuma Kuwabara, another of Botan's friends. She was a senior and always on the honor role, despite her minimal attendance in class and her chain smoking.

Botan sat on staircase for a while, waiting on the lunch bell to ring. She met with her two friends in the cafeteria.

"Oh, no! I know that face. Let me guess, Evilmoto gave you another detention." Kazuma said.

Botan simply showed him the detention slip and nodded.

"This is the fourth one this month!" Keiko exclaimed "Aren't you afraid that they're gonna call Meyumi in again?"

"What good would that do? She'd probably just come in drunk again." Botan replied

"Hey Kuwabara." A voice said from behind them. It was Lee, the principal's son and the most popular boy in the school.

"Hey, Konamei." He said again

Botan looked at him to see a cocky grin on his face. Her usual scowl became more pronounced.

"So, Keiko's birthday party, you're going right?" he asked. She ignored him.

"My buddies were telling me that they all asked you to go to the party with them, but you turned them all down." He said again

"What's your point?" she asked, with an indifferent look on her face.

"Well, my point is that you don't settle for less than the best, and it so happens that I wanna ask you out. A pretty thing like you should be with the hottest thing in this dump." He said again

She raised one eyebrow and crossed her legs.

"Why don't you take your raging hormones and your meaty hands and go play with yourself." She replied.

Lee's expression changed instantly. He turned and walked away.

"Frigid bitch" Lee muttered, while still in earshot

"What was that?" she asked, getting up. He turned to face her. "So because I'm not jumping your bones and don't wanna be groped by some steroid charged idiot with a testicle for a brain, I'm frigid?" she said

Everyone around them laughed hysterically as Lee walked away in embarrassment, shoving anyone in his way. Botan rolled her eyes and sat back down; trying her best not to get into any more trouble for the rest of the day.

After school, she went straight home and straight to bed, where she had another strange dream. She dreamt that she was in a dark cave, feeling around for her way out.

"Don't panic." She heard a voice say. It was calm and soothing.

"Who are you?" she asked "Where in the hell am I and what am I doing here?"

"Nothing. Everything. It depends on what you think you are doing here." The voice said again, this time with an echo, sounding closer than before.

Then, the light of a torch appeared and illuminated the entire cave to reveal beautiful crystals on either side. A figure appeared beside her, carrying the torch.

"Follow me" he said.

She couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded familiar and trustworthy, so she wasn't afraid. She followed until she arrived outside, where the shadow immediately disappeared. The sun shone with great intensity, and she could make out an image of a girl with hair like hers standing in front of her.

…

She heard a loud thud in the living room and woke up immediately. She went to see what it was, seeing her mother sprawled out on the floor with a bottle of beer beside her.

"Don't just stand there, help me up!" her mother said.

Botan helped her mother to the couch. She sat beside her.

"You seriously need to stop drinking. It's gonna kill you one of these days, I swear!" Botan said

"What do you care? All the better, I'll see Ayame again, anyway." Her mother slurred

Botan huffed and went to her room, upset. She couldn't sleep for the entire night. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, counting the cracks present there. She sighed and closed her eyes tightly as her mother retched in the bathroom. She felt like crying, but forced herself not to, as she always did. She snuck out the window and went to the park, falling asleep on the park bench after an hour. She woke up just in time to watch the sunrise, and remembered Ayame sitting beside her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.

She opened her eyes to see a red haired boy sitting beside her. She looked over to see him staring straight ahead, at the sunrise. Both sat there quietly as she continued to stare at the boy. He looked a little older than her and was taller than she was. She examined his face; it was aesthetically symmetrical, with a straight nose, strong chin, emerald eyes and thin lips. Safe to say, he was good looking.

"It's very impolite to stare." The stranger said, without even looking at her.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that I was." She said scratching her neck.

He smiled at her and looked over with blank eyes. He stretched his hand out for a handshake.

"Shuichi Minamino." He said as she shaked his hand.

"Botan Konamei, nice to meet you." She replied with a smile.

"That's a beautiful name." he said

"Thanks. So you're watching the sunrise, too?"

The boy didn't answer her at first; he just smiled and looked forward.

"No. Not really." He said, in a tranquil voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

"You see, Botan, I'm legally blind." He said

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." She quickly replied.

"Don't be, it's not like it was your fault. I was born this way and it's really not so bad once you get used to it." He said

She began to feel uncomfortable as they got extremely silent.

"Oh! Look at the time! I'm gonna be late for school if I don't leave now!" she said, getting up.

"You didn't look at your watch." He said. She sat back down, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry." She said "Wait, how did you know I didn't look at my watch?"

"I have my ways. Besides I don't even think you're wearing one. Don't worry about it, I would've don the same thing if I was in your position." He chuckled

After several hours of talking, she left to get to school by the lunch period. The boy sat there until she left, then walked through the trees to his destination.


	3. Saving me

**SAVING ME**

Keiko walked around the entire school looking for Botan at lunch. She called her on her cellular phone.

"Where the heck are you?" the girl asked as Botan answered the phone.

"Well, hello to you, too." Botan responded "I'll be back before lunch ends, don't have a heart attack!"

"Just make sure you get here before Takanaka Starts asking for you." Keiko replied before hanging up.

Botan got to a fence that parted the school grounds from the street and in one climbed over into the school yard.

"You know if you're going to jump a fence at school, you normally do it to escape." A male voice said.

It sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place it. She turned around to face a young man, about her age or a little older, with jet black hair and piercing brown eyes.

"Do I know you?" she asked the familiar stranger.

"Maybe." He replied, "Do I look like someone you know?"

"I don't know, who are you?" she replied, defensively

"Yusuke," he replied

She looked at him strangely, a little apprehensive at first, then put on an indifferent look. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"We'll see each other again." The boy said, walking away.

"Yusuke?" she said to herself, and then she shrugged.

Two days later, Botan was walking home after school and walked through a lonely alley. She suddenly couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed.

"Hey, Konamei!" a male voice said

She turned around to see Lee, from school, with a bunch of other boys. They formed a ring around the girl.

"I didn't appreciate the way you dissed me at school the other day, as and you can see, I don't do well with rejection." He said angrily

"Well I suggest you get used to it. It seems you're gonna get a lot of it in your lifetime." She said

Lee pushed her back on the wall, and held her by the throat, pressing her back.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she said, in fright.

"Your precious Kazuma isn't here to save you now. How about a kiss?" Lee teased, tightening his grip on her.

She kicked him in the groin and ran as he let her go, but one of the other boys held on to her and shoved her to the ground, trying to strip her of her clothing. She kicked him off, and punched another in the face, but she couldn't keep them off. She tried to scream but Lee covered her mouth.

"Let her go." A very distinctive voice commanded.

She looked up to see the same boy she had met at school two days ago, Yusuke.

"Mind your own business." Lee said, continuing to hold her down.

Yusuke grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed his pressure point. Lee winced as he felt his entire body go numb. He pushed Lee off her, and was attacked by another boy, who he punched square in the face. He then continued to ward off the others with a series of successful punches and kicks. She sat with her back to the wall, trembling in fear. She had almost been _raped_, and if it wasn't for this mysterious stranger she might have even lost her life. Soon all the thugs were gone, and it was just the two of them in the alley. He helped her up.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" he asked, checking her for bruises.

She shaked her head, she was still in shock.

"Th- -tha - -thank you." She quivered

"No problem, I couldn't just stand around and watch them hurt someone." He replied. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded, trying her best to keep a straight face. It was all she knew to do, put up defensive walls around herself, hide her pain, and keep everyone else out.

"Well, thanks again. I should be going now." She said, walking off

"Fine, see you around, Botan." He said, walking back up the alley.

"See you around, Yusuke." She whispered turning and walking in the opposite direction.

**Well, what do u think. I know it might not be the best, but please comment, make suggestions, whatever.**

**Peony-amethyst **


	4. Fiction vs Reality

**FICTION AND REALITY**

Botan kept having the same dream over and over, but it was becoming clearer, she could see everything: a river, a cave of limestone, torchlight: but she still could not make out the face of the other person. It still remained in the shadows for some unknown reason. She got up early again and went to the park again, sitting on the same bench she did for the past four years, ever since the death of her sister when she was twelve. She closed her eyes as she felt the sun creep up on her, its luminous beams beating down on her porcelain skin.

Then a hand rested on her shoulder. She grabbed the person and flipped him over to his back, before realizing that it was Kuwabara, now flat on his back and cursing.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was you." She said, helping him up

"It's okay; I'm used to you beating on me, anyway." He replied "So, it's the last week of school, next up: summer break." He said, "Should be fun"

She chuckled sarcastically and sat back on the bench.

"Hey, why weren't you at school yesterday?" he asked, sitting beside her

She shrugged in indifference and looked up.

"Just didn't feel like it." She lied

He looked at her with concern on his face.

"Come on, you know I know you better than that, and I know when you're lying. Tell me what's wrong, B, or I'll just keep pestering you for the rest of the day." He said, again

She remained silent and he sighed. She leaned on his shoulder and she sighed, too.

"You know you're the only person I let see me like this. If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." She said

"Your secret's safe with me." He chuckled "Anyway, you think you'll feel like going to Keiko's party tonight?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" she replied.

Night came quickly and Botan got ready for the party at Keiko's.

"Come on, Botan! We're gonna be late!" Kuwabara shouted, waiting for her in the living room.

"Don't get your shorts in a twist!" she shouted back, pulling on her black leggings under her white miniskirt. She put on a pair of knee- high black boots and a white halter top under a black jacket. Her hair was in its usual ponytail. They left for Keiko's parent's restaurant. When they arrived, everyone was already at the party, and music was blasting through every window. People were dancing and talking and Keiko was the centre of attention.

"Hey pinks, happy birthday." Kuwabara said, handing Keiko a beautifully wrapped gift.

"I love it. Thanks Botan." Keiko replied, hugging her two friends.

"Hey! I was the one who gave you the damn gift; I should get the thanks here." Kuwabara protested

"Oh, please, we all know you didn't pick out the gift, you only paid for it, moron." Keiko replied

Kuwabara scratched the back of his head with a convicted look on his face.

"Well, that's true. I should've known that you'd figure it out, after all, you're not that dumb." He teased

Keiko's hand raised to deliver and affective slap across the boy's face, leaving it as red as a tomato and he huffed rubbing it.

Then, Botan saw a familiar head of red hair flash by. She turned to her friends.

"Hey, either of you know a Shuichi Minamino? He's got red hair and he's blind." She inquired

Both of her friends shaked their heads.

"The only red haired blind dude I know is my grandpa, and I'm pretty sure his name isn't Shuichi." Kuwabara replied.

Botan looked back again to see the boy, this time it was as if he was staring at her, and he smiled and went through the front door. She followed behind him and her friends followed her. Botan followed the boy through the door to wind up in the middle of a strange forest, surrounded by thick trees.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, as she turned to go back through the door only to see it had disappeared. The only thing that stood there was a huge oak tree.

"Okay, this is officially the weirdest dream ever." She said to herself as she tried to find an alternate path.

The trees surrounding the empty spot where she stood seemed to be entangled with thick vines which she could not detangle.

"Okay… this is officially a nightmare, now!" She exclaimed, beginning to hyperventilate. She frantically tugged at the thickly woven vines in the hopes of escaping, but they only seemed to hold firmer with each tug. Her shoulders drooped in defeat.

Then, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She grabbed the person by the pulse point and flipped him over, only to see Kuwabara was the one now laying face down eating grass.

"Ow! That's the second time you've beat me up in one day, you going for a new record or something?" the boy said, obviously in pain.

"Well you should know better than to sneak up on me by now." She said helping him up on his feet.

Keiko stood there with a panicked look on her face. The three confused teens sat on the grass in despair, before Kuwabara got up and started beating on a tree.

"Brute force will do no good against my plants, Kazuma." A familiar sounding voice said form the trees.

The boy jumped down, red hair flashing in the wind. He walked over to the girls and Kuwabara ran over to where they were, acting as a human shield for Keiko 9he was too scared of Botan and was sure she could defend herself.

"Hello again, Botan." The boy said, acknowledging the cerulean haired girl who looked as if she was going to commit murder and huffed at his appearance.

"YOU! What the hell did you do? And what the hell are we doing here?" she shouted, angrily

"Nothing, Everything. It depends on what you think you are doing here." He said, calmly as he paced around them.

Botan was puzzled. His voice, what he said sounded so familiar, almost as if she had known him for a long time.

"What's pretty boy yakking about? And where do you know him from?" Kuwabara asked

"Oh, where are my manner, allow me to introduce myself. I am known by many names; in human terms, I am known as Shuichi Minamino, and in the other worlds I am called Yoko Kurama, but you can just call me Kurama." He said, calmer than before.

Botan's eyebrow raised in a quizzical look when she heard this.

"The one decent guy in Japan and he has to be a crazy serial killer," She said, "with multiple personality"

He laughed heartily as her statement.

"I think its hardly befitting of a Kitsune prince to be called 'a crazy serial killer', and I have one personality, just so you know." He said

"A what?" Keiko asked, gripping on to Kuwabara's arm in fright.

"I though those Kitsune things only existed in your journals, Botan." Kuwabara said, incredulously

"Wait, Botan keeps journals?" Keiko asked "And you knew and I didn't?"

"I don't think this is the best time to be discussing this, besides, if he's a demon from Makai, we should be pretty freakin' scared right now." Kuwabara said, now holding both girls back.

"The Kitsunes I write about travel in packs, so why are you alone?" Botan inquired.

Kurama's expression changed to a cold one.

"This is one Kitsune who prefers to be alone…" he said, barely loud enough for them to hear.

"Wait, Yoko Kurama was exiled from the Kitsune village for swearing allegiance to the Reikai army, he betrayed his people by turning good." Botan said

"And how do I know all of this? I've never even been to Makai or Reikai before! And I've never met you before that day in the park." She continued to rant

"You have been to the three worlds before, and you were once acquainted with the fox." Another familiar voice said from in the trees. It was Yusuke, the boy who had saved her life, jumping down from the highest branch of the oak tree.

"Okay, now I know you guys are crazy. I've never even left Tokyo before, much less been to a world that sits on top of clouds with a baby as a boss and girls flying on oars , or one where everything's demon possessed and fighting for control." She said, upset.

"Then how do you know all that?" Keiko asked

"Precisely." Kurama replied

"Alright, let me rephrase this, the three of you are reincarnations of three protectors of the realms called the Reikai Tantei, who are warriors whose powers arise when the world needs them the most." Yusuke said.

Keiko and Kuwabara laughed loudly at the boy's statement.

"And its not a dream, Botan, no matter how hard you wish it to be, and this is not the time for hysterics." Kurama said "You need to come with us, we'll explain everything once we're out of the forest."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere with two strange guys, for all I know, they could be rapists." Keiko said

"Either we go with them or they leave us here to be an appetizer for some morbidly hideous monster, so pick your poison." Kuwabara said following behind Kurama.

The girls followed and Yusuke walked behind them, to offer extra protection, all the while keeping his eyes on the blue haired girl. Botan could feel him looking t her and stared directly into his eyes.

He looked so familiar, but she could place his face or his name in any of her stories, although there was definitely a Yoko, and a pair she thought she modeled after her two friends. If this was a dream, it certainly was the strangest one she ever had by far.


	5. Heritage

**Special thanks to jdcocoagirl and heartluv for reviewing my stuff**

**HERITAGE**

They were led to a temple in the centre of the forest, which had what seemed like a training ground to the sides. There under the shelter of a large tree sat an old woman and a girl with sea foam green hair.

"We've found the remaining guardians." Kurama said to the old woman as she stood up.

"Welcome back, you three. It's an honor to be working with all of you again." She said

"Which is Susaiko?" she asked as all six teens assembled in front of her

"What the hell is a Susaiko?" Kuwabara asked

"That would be you." The old woman said again

She groped his bicep and gave an almost unnoticeable smile.

"You've trained. Martial Arts, right?" she asked.

Kuwabara chuckled lowly.

"IF you call getting my ass kicked by a girl who can fit in my pocket for five years straight then, yeah, I guess I do train." He replied with a laugh.

"You have very high spiritual energy, and a very orange aura. Yukina, take him under your wing. She is an ice maiden, her careful approach and tactic is bound to rub off on you." She said

The sea foam colored hair girl walked over to them and gave a respectful nod to Kuwabara.

"I look forward to working with you, Susaiko." She said "If you would follow me."

They went to the back of the temple to an empty spot to train.

Suddenly, a short, dark haired boy with the most striking crimson eyes walked over to the group.

"Late as usual, Hiei. Take princess pink over there. Her whimsical pink aura should help to balance yours." The old woman said again.

"Why could I go with one of the hot guys?" Keiko whined "Not that anything's wrong with you or anything."

"I'm not too happy about it myself." Hiei said, with a glare.

"By the way, the name's Keiko, what's yours?" she asked, politely as they walked off

The old woman turned to Botan and smiled.

"Now, you must be Mitsuki. I can tell by your hair. You haven't changed a bit." She said

"Yeah, well it's pretty hard to believe you people are sane and I'm sure I'll wake up soon so who's gonna train me?" Botan said

" It would seem you boys have your work cut out for you." The old woman said walking away

Yusuke followed behind her.

"Genkai, I'm sure Kurama can manage on his own in training this girl." He said

"Oh, you'll be needed. Remember that Kurama needs some training of his own to finish. You will be mainly responsible for training her and guiding her to her destiny, so don't run from yours." She said, walking off.

She turned back towards him.

"Look, I know it's going to be hard for you, but we do what we are fated to, we can't escape it. Who knows, maybe this time will turn out differently." Genkai said again.

He looked over at Botan and remembered the first time he saw her, centuries ago, as the first princess of the spirit world. He remembered their first meeting, when she ran away to The Valley, a plane which existed under no specific jurisdiction, between the human world and the demon world. He was an orphan then, then son of a demon and a human, an outcast in all three worlds. He was thirteen and she was eleven. He watched her from the trees for some time, as she sat and viewed the sunset, with a silver and violet phoenix on her shoulder. The bird flew up to the tree where Yusuke sat. The sudden movement of the bird scared him so much that he fell out of the tree.

The girl shrieked as the strange boy fell to the ground.

"Who are you?" she asked, taking a step back.

"Did my father send you to get me?"

"Do I look like a guard of the palace? My name is Yusuke. What is the Reikai princes doing out here?" he said, walking towards her.

The boy paced around the girl and examined her from every angle. She turned synchronizing his every movement, keeping her guard up. Yusuke was fascinated by the girl.

"Why are you afraid of me?" he asked with a laugh

The bird landed on his shoulder and he patted it on the back.

"It's obvious your bird isn't, which means I mean you no harm." He said moving closer to her.

She stepped back almost instinctively.

"I am not afraid of you." She lied

"So, you still haven't answered my question: what is the Reikai princess doing down here?" he asked again

"If you must know, I'm running away." She said, with a flash of sky blue hair. The phoenix landed on he r shoulder.

"Yusuke?" Botan said, waving her hand in front of the boy who was now staring into space.

She proceeded to snap her fingers, but still got no response from him. Irritated, she folded her arms.

"Oh master Yusuke? Sensei? God damn it, wake up!" she said, about to slap him across the face.

He quickly held on to her hand before it connected to his cheek. His sudden movement rendered her speechless.

"I'd rather you not do that." He said, letting go of her hand.

"S-sorry." She said. It seemed like the hardest thing to say then and she instantly got upset and proceeded to walk away.

"And where do you think you're going? We have training, remember?" he said. She turned to him.

"IF you don't train, you don't leave." He said again.

"Fine, whatever." She replied, walking behind him to the training ground.

They stood ten feet apart and Botan was prepared for anything.

"I can tell from your stance that you've had some training in hand to hand combat." He said, impressed

"If you call beating up Kuwabara for five years straight training then yeah, I guess I have trained." She replied

He stood upright, in no particular offensive or defensive position, with his hands in his pockets.

"Alright then, hit me with your best shot." He said, with a shrug of his shoulder

"You're shitting me, right?" she asked, a quizzical look on her face.

"No. You are obviously well trained. I want to see how well you fare against me." He said

"Alright, if you say so." She said.

She ran up to give him a roundhouse kick, which he simply dodged it in a flash of color, causing her to fall flat on her face.

She was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what she had just seen.

"What?" she exhaled, getting up.

She felt his hand on her shoulder, and grabbed him at his pulse point to flip him like she did to Kuwabara

Countless amounts of times, but he beat her to it. Within a split second, she found herself on the ground again, in pain. She got up again, with a clenched fist and swung- another miss. She grew frustrated.

"Keep still! How do you expect me to hit you if you keep moving around like that!" she shouted.

"You're moving too slow. If you move like that in an actual fight with a demon, it'll kill you in a split second." Yusuke said, calmly.

She got off the ground again, her mouth was bleeding. He exhaled sharply at the sight of her blood.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt." He said, offering a hand to help her up.

She grabbed his hand and flipped him over.

"I don't need your sympathy." She said, getting up and wiping the blood from her face.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard from the other side of the temple, followed by a growl from Hiei.

Yusuke and Botan ran to see what it was, only to find Hiei pinned to a charred tree by glowing pink bands, and Keiko with a bruise on her face.

"Get these things off me, woman!" Hiei shouted as he struggled to break free.

"Not until you apologize!" Keiko said, pulling the straps tighter on the tree.

"What did he do?" Botan asked with a low chuckle

"He threw a FIREBALL at me!" Keiko replied

"How did you do that?" Yusuke asked.

Keiko looked at the restraints as if she had just realized what she was doing.

"I don't know, I just got angry and… out came these things from my palms and strapped him to the tree." She replied, releasing Hiei, who fell flat on his face.

"Okay, we've all had our fun, now go back to training." Hiei said as he got up, his face as red as a tomato.

Everyone went back to their respective trainers until sunset. They all went inside, Botan, Keiko and Kuwabara all tired. They all went to the rooms they were given.

Botan looked on the bed in the middle of the room and saw a couple of books with a note on top of them that read:

"_These tell of your heritage, your past lives and your abilities. I suggest you read them and get familiar with your strengths and weaknesses. Hope they help._

_Genkai"_

Botan took one look at the books and scoffed.

"Eh, maybe tomorrow." She said to herself, leaving the room.

Everyone headed to the dining room, where a beautiful dinner was laid out. They sat down around the huge table and ate. The air was tense.

"So, did you read the books that Genkai left out for you?" Kurama asked, trying to break the tension.

"Yeah, I did." Keiko replied "I still can't believe that I was Botan's advisor in her first life. That's cool, and familiar."

"And I was her guard- and best friend." Kuwabara added.

"Why on earth would I have needed an advisor and a guard?" Botan asked.

"You mean you didn't read?" Genkai asked, incredulously.

Botan shaked her head, feeling completely out of the loop.


	6. IntrigueFair Game

_**Tell me what you guys think so far, I really appreciate the support.**_

_**Special thanks to jdcocoagirl, gomen nasai and heartluv**_

_** INTRIGUE/FAIR GAME**_

Botan looked at everyone staring at her in disbelief.

"So what if I didn't read – yet. I will, eventually." She said.

"Botan, you are the reincarnation of Mitsuki - the last princess of Reikai." Genkai said.

"You are one of the most powerful and influential persons to fight in the war. It is important that you read those diaries, they'll help you not to get killed." Yusuke said, getting up and leaving the table.

"Wait, princess? Are you guys sure that isn't Keiko?" Botan asked.

"In your first life you were Reikai's most prized possession, their 'phoenix', they hid you from civilization for so long that you ran away the first chance you got." Kuwabara said.

They sat and talked about their past lives for hours, until they all went to bed. Botan began reading immediately. She noticed a few pages were missing out of each book, but ignored it. She noticed it was all written in her handwriting and read for hours until she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"<em>Girl! Get back here!" a woman shouted loudly.<em>

_The blue haired girl ran as fast as she could, looking back to see three men chasing her. They finally caught her and dragged her back to the woman, who was holding a whip._

"_You made a promise to the shogun to repay your family's debt, so why are you running?" the woman said, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her inside._

_She dressed the girl in a bright re kimono made of fine silk and trimmed with gold. She combed her hair as the girl cried gently, the tears falling freely from her amethystine eyes. She remembered her parents: her mother terminally ill and her father barely able to walk. She was doing this for them, to repay what they owed in return for their lives being spared._

"_The shogun requests to see her now." A young man said._

_The woman walked her to the other room._

"_You should be happy. You are the first of my geishas to be sold to someone of such rank." The woman said._

* * *

><p>Botan woke up immediately, her breathing shallow and tears running from her face. She got up and went to the kitchen. There she saw Yukina and Yusuke talking, they stopped as soon as they saw her.<p>

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said, opening the refrigerator and taking out a bottle of water.

"Not at all, I was just leaving." Yukina said, walking up the stairs.

Botan sat on the counter. She was in nothing but a t-shirt and her hair was in pigtails.

"So she's the one?" Botan said slyly.

"The one what?" Yusuke asked "I do not wish to discuss my personal life with anyone, especially not you."

"Fine." She said crossing her legs.

He tried his hardest not to stare at her. She played with her hair and chewed on her bottom lip staring off into space.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" he asked changing the subject.

"Concerned about my sleeping habits?" she teased, jumping off the counter.

"And why would you think that I am concerned about you?" he asked, folding his arms.

She move closer to him, as if by reflex, and went on her toes to try looking him in the face. He felt uncomfortable having her so close to him and stepped back. She fell off balance and he caught her.

"I'm fine!" she said "It seems when I fall you're always there to save me." She said as he set her on her feet.

He walked out of the kitchen immediately, going outside and shutting the door behind him.

"Smooth." A voice said from behind him.

He turned around to see Hiei standing behind him.

"Shut up." He said, angrily

"Tell me something, do you really think making her hate you is the best way to keep her alive?" Hiei asked.

"It's the only thing I can think of." Yusuke replied.

"Well I can tell you this, your attitude only makes her more intrigued." Hiei said

"You read her mind?" Yusuke asked, looking mildly upset.

"I was never able to do that, remember?" Hiei replied "I can see it in her eyes. It's hard to ignore her, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>Botan lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She started reading the journals again and started to remember most of her past lives. Morning came quickly and she was the first one up and down the stairs. She made breakfast for everyone, Kuwabara being the first to wake after smelling the food. He came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and sitting down. He looked at Botan closely. She was actually wearing pants, and they were not black. She was in a yellow blouse and her hair was still in pigtails, long to her waist.<p>

"Wow, you actually own colored clothes?" he said taking a big bite of the pancake now on his plate.

"No. Whoever packed my stuff went into the wrong part of the closet, these are… Ayame's, not mine." She said softly.

There were a few seconds of silence, broken by Hiei and Kurama's voices. Both stopped at the kitchen entrance. Both entered the kitchen and took a seat. Botan made them plates. Hiei stared at the food.

"Well Hiei, dig in! Aren't you hungry?" she asked the short fire demon, sitting between Kurama and Kuwabara.

"I don't eat… human food." Hiei said, darkly, a smug look on his face.

"Well what do you eat then?" Botan asked

"Humans." Hiei replied a dark, vindictive smile on his lips.

Botan and Kuwabara dropped their forks, wide eyed with their mouths opened in shock. Silence fell for a few seconds.

"Seriously, Hiei, why do you feel the need to do that every time you meet someone new, it's very cruel." Kurama said, with a smirk.

"I'm just trying to have a little fun." Hiei said, taking a bite of the pancake.

Genkai, Keiko and Yukina came down and sat around the table and everyone had various conversations over breakfast. Botan looked around at the faces that she had known for centuries: Kurama, the level-headed, intelligent, tactical genius Kitsune who was so easy to talk to: Hiei, the sarcastic, cynical fire demon who was also a great listener: Genkai, the lifelong confidante and teacher: Keiko, the overprotective motherly guide: Yukina, the sort spoken, kind hearted one: Kuwabara, the tough guy with the softest heart.

Then, yusuke walked in and went through the back door, without so much as looking over at them.

"Good morning to you, too." Keiko said

"Who shoved a pole up his ass?" Kuwabara asked

"Yusuke's a complex being. It is extremely hard to pinpoint one specific reason why he is the way he is. Just know that he is as pure of heart as any Reikai agent or as any one of us here." Kurama said.

"Considering he's half demon, that's a lot to say." Hiei added.

* * *

><p>After breakfast everyone went back to training. Botan went with Kurama to a meadow. The wind blowing through the boy's scarlet hair made it resemble fine silk. She watched him as he walked to the centre of the rose bordered field.<p>

"Come." He said in his usual tranquil voice.

She breathed in the crisp air as she walked over to him, standing exactly in front of the Kitsune.

"Give me your hand." He said, outstretching his.

She placed her hand in his and he clasped it with both of his, crushed rose petals between each space. Instantly, a surge of warmth spread through her entire body. He was exasperated.

"What did you just do?" she asked, widening her eyes in confusion.

"I healed you. I could smell the blood from your wound and I used my energy to mend it. As you can see, it takes a lot out of me." He said.

She felt the cut on her lip to see that it had completely healed, as if there had been nothing there in the first place.

"Thanks, that was really nice of you." She said

"Anytime." He replied, "Now I'm supposed to be training you, so go pick one of those roses for me."

Botan's eyebrow rose in a quizzical look on her face, but went to pick the rose, anyway. She brought the flower to him, and it instantly transformed into a long, thorny whip. Her eyes widened in amazement.

"What - - how?" she stuttered

"That's my power. I have control over plants. The rose whip is my favorite technique; it can cut through almost anything." He said.

"You're not gonna hit me with that, are you?" she asked, flinching at the thought. He laughed.

"Why would I do that? My task is to train you, not hurt you." He said, minimizing the whip into a simple rose.

"Give me your hand, Botan." He requested, to which the girl gladly obliged. "Close your eyes."

She did just that, and in instant, felt the gentle push and pull of petals on her arm.

"Uh, what the hell are you doing?" she asked, growing tense.

"Relax, I am not going to hurt you. I'd never hurt you, Botan." He said, moving the flower up to her neck. "I am just trying to see if you can be anything but defensive."

She became less tense with each touch, and it was as if her other senses opened up. She could hear the soft push and pull of the flower against her skin, smell the aroma of her environment with a new intensity and feel the soft breeze cooling her warm skin. Kurama smiled at his accomplishment.

"You can open your eyes now." He said, softly

She turned to him, and amethystine eyes met emerald. She felt as if he saw right through her (even though he couldn't see), and turned away in a blush. She touched her hand to his chest as if to feel a heartbeat, then moved her fingers to his long, scarlet locks.

"You don't look like yourself." She said, playing in his long hair.

She remembered him differently, more chiseled and angular, taller, with amber-gold eyes and silvery hair.

"You don't look like yourself, either." He chuckled, holding her hand.

He ran his fingers all the way up to her face. It was then he was sure he was lying as she felt the same: soft as silk skin, a nose just the right size for her face, full lips that he had always dreamed of engulfing with his own. He cupped her ethereal face with his hands, trailing down to the nape of her heck.

"Ahem." Yusuke said as he viewed the two, too distracted to even notice his presence.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Genkai needs to see Botan immediately." He said again

As the girl left Yusuke walked over to Kurama in a temper, his fists clenched tight, leaving him white knuckled.

"What do you think you're doing with her?" he asked, teeth clenched.

"This one fascinates me, Yusuke. She seems to be intrigued by you, but is more vulnerable around me. I am bound to be… fixated… with this one." Kurama said stoically.

"In fact, I am curious as to why she cannot remember you?"

"Because I altered her memories to exclude anything about me, I had to jump in and out of her dreams and rip out her diary entries from the books that Genkai had to make sure she doesn't remember a thing." Yusuke said. Kurama smirked darkly.

"so she's fair game then?" Kurama asked.

"She is if you want to be choked to death by your own rose whip." Yusuke replied, walking away.

"You really know how top push his buttons, fox." Hiei said, walking out from the trees. "Just don't push him over the edge."

"Trust me Hiei; I know what I'm doing." Kurama replied.

Hiei chuckled.

"You know the girl does not have any recollection of any 'old flames' don't you?" He asked.

"I am well aware of that, Hiei." Kurama replied.

"Just be careful. Yusuke might bite your head off for her, we've seen it before, and it always happen the same way, with the same end." Hiei said.

"No need to remind me, I was there, remember? I was always there." Kurama replied. "But if he doesn't try, I can't fail. As I said before, she's fair game and any prize worth having is worth the risk."


	7. En Memoriam

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YU YU HAKUSHO OR ITS CHARACTERS.**

_Thanks to all who read and special thanks to gomen nasai for reviewing._

_Shoutout to FreyaCat... You guys need to read her HieiBotan fic. It's really good!_

_Now to what u came for..._

**IN MEMORY OF**

She arrived at Genkai's in the next few minutes, to find her in a greenhouse full of vibrant colored flowers. The most striking was the pink peonies which grew to the centre of the indoor garden.

"I planted these especially for you." Genkai said. "Did you know that in ancient times peonies were said to have healing powers? People would make a poultice and placed it on wounds and within two days they were said to disappear."

"Cool." Botan said, sitting in a large wicker chair.

"Each life you have had has a special place to all of us. I have had something special done for every life you have had, the first being a moonstone necklace and the last is this garden." Genkai said, sitting beside her.

"How many lives have I actually had?" Botan asked.

"This would be the fifth. There was Mitsuki, then Aiko, then Hana and Reina. They were all very beautiful and very strong and very passionate phoenixes as you are now." Genkai replied.

"Me? A strong phoenix? I can't even dodge a few punches from Yusuke!" she exclaimed, with a laugh.

"Do you know what the most interesting thing about a phoenix is? Each rebirth brings a stronger, more determined version of her, they are extremely rare and extremely powerful and valued among all creatures." Genkai said, picking a peony and placing it in Botan's hair. She smiled.

"Genkai, why can't I remember Yusuke?" Botan asked. Genkai laughed lowly.

"I honestly have no clue, but I'm sure it'll come back to you soon. For now, just focus on training."

* * *

><p>Botan left the greenhouse to go back to the training ground. There she saw Kuwabara and Yukina full engaged in battle, with Yukina projecting darts of ice at him and him blocking them with his spirit sword. On the other side she saw Hiei and Keiko, fire blazing form his palms and her sashes ousting the blaze. Kurama walked up beside her.<p>

"I feel so jealous right now." She said, in a sarcastically dry tone.

"You just need a little more training to tap into your abilities." He replied.

"And what would those be exactly?" she asked.

"You are what we would call a mimic. You have the ability to manipulate and absorb other's spiritual energy, channeling it into your own version of the opponent's attack." He explained.

"Hm… sounds dangerous. I can see why you guys didn't want to show me yet. I could hurt somebody." She joked.

"So I see a kind of elemental thing goin' on with the demon population around here: Yukina's ice, Hiei's fire, you're some sort of plant god, so what's Yusuke?" she asked

"Yusuke's not elemental, he's energy based, just like the human half of the team. His energy is channeled in his hands and takes the form of a spirit gun." Kurama said.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Botan went to sit at the top of the temple and watched the stars. They were so bright, a lot brighter than in the city, and provided anyone who would look with a celestial symphony of light.<p>

"Botan." She heard someone say from behind her. It was Yusuke.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" he asked.

She moved over a bit and gave him seating space. He looked at her left wrist to see a colorful butterfly tattoo with the word 'Cho' beneath it.

"Cho was my sister." She said, holding up her arm to give him better view. "Her name was actually Ayame but my grandpa called her Cho cause she looked like his sister. She died when I was thirteen."

"It's beautiful." He said softly, caressing her hand.

She felt comforted, safe, like she had known him for years. She pulled closer to him.

"She was like a mom to me, more than Meyumi ever was. We'd have so much fun together. She was my best friend." She replied with a smile.

"How did she pass away?" he asked.

"Car accident." She answered, bluntly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." He replied.

She scowled.

"Why? Wasn't your fault, anyway." She huffed, pulling away and going back inside.

"Well, at least you're making progress." Yukina said from behind him.

"How long have you been there?" he asked, upset.

"Long enough." She replied. "I thought you said she'd be better off without you."

"She will be. She is." He said.

"This one's a little touchier than the others, it might take a little more to soften her up to you." She said.

"I'm not trying to. I told you already told you, she's better off without me." He replied, going inside.

"Whatever you say." Yukina replied, with a sigh.

* * *

><p>Botan went to her room and continued reading the journals, scrutinizing them for any evidence of Yusuke. She was up to Hana's when she saw a letter, ripped in half, which read:<p>

'_Never forget, always in_

_Memory, always in my_

_Heart, forever mine_

The handwriting wasn't hers.

"Weird…" she thought.

Then she saw another torn note, in her handwriting, which read:

'_Leaving home is always hard, but thanks to Koenma my parents' debt will be repaid and they can live safely while I am away. I hope he will be there. He had saved me from that shogun and I have felt a special connection with him ever since, like fate had put him there…'_

Botan grew more and more confused, thoughts ringing through her mind. 'Who is she talking about?' 'Why can't I remember this?'

"This is too freakin' weird." She thought out loud.

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to find relief from the impending migraine of her amnesia.

* * *

><p><em><strong>CHO: BUTTERFLY<strong>_

**The tattoo idea is taken from my actual life… I had a BFF die recently. She's actually the person who suggested I joined FFNET and inspired my first fanfic: ****BEHIND THIS SMILE**

**Hope you guys like it so far! Please remember to review… doesn't have to be pleasant, constructive criticism also accepted.**

**IN LOVING MEMORY OF JADE: A PHOENIX IN HER OWN RIGHT**

**YOU ARE MISSED, BUTTERFLY!**


	8. Dangerous

Hey, it's Peony here with a new chappie!

Sorry it took so long, but I had a bit of writer's block and decided to revamp the rest of the tale… so expect a little more action and maybe even some drama along the way!

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim any rights to Yu Yu Hakusho, it's characters or plot… although I wish I owned the team, sigh….

* * *

><p><strong>Dangerous<strong>

"Botan, Botan, get up." Yukina said softly, pulling gently on the girl sleeping on the bed.

"Wake the hell up! We have training!" Hiei said, barging in.

"Ten more minutes," Botan murmured in her sleep.

"Whatever, I'm heading out, since you have nothing to do with my training regimen." He said again.

Botan suddenly felt something cold on her lower back which caused her to wake up, falling off the bed in the process.

She turned around to see Yukina smiling with a ball of ice in her hand.

"Yusuke sent me to wake you up, and I decided to not leave without you." She said. "Now if you don't mind following me."

"What, I don't even get to brush my teeth? Humans are big on personal hygiene, you know." Botan said, while following her.

They went to the training ground to see Yusuke and Kurama standing there. Botan walked up to them, a slightly peeved look on her face.

"I know you guys don't necessarily have to sleep, but we humans need at least eight hours of it! I mean the sun's barely up!" she exclaimed.

"You need all the training you can get in order to actually be ready for the battle to come." Kurama said.

"Fine, let's get this over with. Which one of you wants to go first?" she asked

Kurama smiled slightly and Yusuke stepped towards her.

"Guess that means you." she said to him "And don't hold back this time."

"Oh. I won't." he said, putting his index finger up.

"Let's see how fast you can dodge." He said, firing his sprit gun.

Botan shifted, barely missing the blast.

"What the hell? What about a warning?" She shouted.

"Do you think you'll get a warning from whatever the hell demon attacks you first?" he asked, firing another blast.

This time it hit her, sending her clear to the other side of the field. Botan clenched her teeth. She could feel the blood boiling in the pit of her stomach as she grew angrier and angrier. She got up and ran at him at lightning speed, pouncing on him as she conjured a violet version of Keiko's ribbons. In a split second the ribbons wrapped around his neck and legs, tightening as she pulled on them. Yusuke's eyes widened in shock as he realized that she was actually choking him. He pulled on the restraints, with no luck. They were getting tighter with every tug and he started to gasp for air.

Kurama could hear him gasping for air, he could feel the sudden burst of energy coming from Botan that almost knocked him over.

"Botan, that's enough, let him go." He chided, as if talking to a child.

Within a few seconds, she complied. The ribbons dissipated and Yusuke fell to the ground, coughing the air back into his lungs.

"Excellent work. It seems you've learned to manipulate Keiko's technique." Genkai said from behind her.

Botan turned around to see that everyone was standing there, staring at her incredulously.

"I just- I didn't-..."she said, looking around.

Then, she ran.

* * *

><p>Botan paced around her room, muttering a few expletives and hitting the wall for no particular reason. Then Kazuma walked in.<p>

"You alright?" he asked

"Yeah." She replied, sitting on her bed.

"That was badass what you did today." He said in an attempt to comfort her.

"I almost killed him, Kuwabara. I was going to strangle him to death, if Kurama didn't stop me I don't know what would've happened." She answered.

"But you didn't." he said.

"But I would have." She said, leaving the room.


	9. Hiei, should've listened

_Hey guys, it's another chapter of my attempt at a fanfic… p.s., Review_

* * *

><p><em>Hiei<em>

Botan paced across the living room where she saw Hiei sitting on the windowsill.

"Hey." She said.

"Hn, what do you want?" he asked.

"Not that you care…" Botan said.

She sighed as she looked through the window. "I hate it here."

"…"

"But at least its more interesting than home."

"…"

"Your silence doesn't scare me, at all." She said.

"It should." He said.

"Oh, stop with the intimidation, we both know you won't hurt me." she said, with a smile.

"Hn, won't I?" he said.

She looked through the window to see Yusuke training by himself.

"What's his deal?" she asked.

"When you've seen as much as we have, you'll understand that smiling doesn't come as easy as it used to." Hiei said. "And you begin to hate everything around you because you know you'll soon lose it all, anyway."

"Wow, for a minute there I almost forgot that you were a convicted demon felon." She said.

"I must be getting soft then, it must be your _humanity_ rubbing off on me." He said.

"Oh, come on you're the second meanest guy here… how much humanity can that count as?" Botan asked.

"A lot considering I'm the only one here that didn't choose to be here." Hiei said

* * *

><p>Botan and Kurama stood several feet apart, him with his rose whip and she had a lilac version of Kuwabara's spirit sword.<p>

"are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, just try not to slice in into shreds." She said, on guard.

He chuckled as he swung the rose whip in her direction. She dodged it, landing on her feet. She ran at him from behind, full speed, spirit sword pointing at him, but was caught with vines and pinned to where she was standing.

"Word of advice: it's almost impossible to sneak up on a Kitsune." He said, releasing her.

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied as he helped her up.

"You were a lot faster when you attacked Yusuke." He said.

"That's because I was actually fighting her." Yusuke shouted from the sidelines.

"He has a point, Kurama… maybe her powers work better when she feels threatened." Yukina said.

"You guys are talking like I'm not evben trying." Botan said.

"Maybe they're right, spirit energy is controlled by emotions, kind of like hormones. When the body senses danger, your spiritual energy becomes more concentrated." Kurama explained.

"Maybe I should give it a go." Hiei said

Kurama's eyes widened.

"He can't do that much damage, right?" she said

"He knows better." Yukina said.

"Yes, I know better." Hiei sarcastically replied.

"Alright, but if it gets out of hand, I'm paralyzing you." Yusuke said. "Temporarily, of course."

"Okay, lets see what you got Hiei." Botan said

Then, he attacked her with his katana. She dodged, although barely.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she said, dodging another potentially fatal blow.

"That's the idea isn't it?" he asked. "Why aren't you fighting back?"

He swung at her again, and the katana cut her on the arm.

"I'm warning you, stop ticking me off!" she shouted.

"Hn, wouldn't that be nice." He scoffed

The sliced off a piece of her blouse. She gasped, and conjured up a spirit gun and blasted Hiei clear away. The blast was so powerful that it knocked everyone off their feet.

"What the hell just happened?" Yusuke asked, getting up out of the rubble.

"I have no idea." Kurama replied.

* * *

><p>Wheee! I Haven't slept in three days! To all you kiddies out there, psychology is NOT easy! AN: Did it suck as bad as I think it did?, you know you can tell me, right?... in a review, rriigghhtt?


	10. Different This Time Around

**Just so you know… **

**I am not dead!**

**I merely took a breather from life, imagine the irony of being a psychology major and having depression…**

**Anyway, here's another one!**

* * *

><p><strong>DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND<strong>

Botan gasped at the sight: everyone was lying flat on their backs and Hiei was dangling from the roof. She stared at her right index finger, which at the moment reminded her of a smoking gun.

"What the hell just happened?" Yusuke asked, getting up out of the rubble.

"I have no idea." Kurama replied.

"Surprised I figured it out?" she asked "I mean it's easy, just point and shoot."

"It's not that, it's the fact that you just fired off demon energy that's got them all shocked." Yukina said in a small voice.

"How?" Yusuke asked again, incredulously staring at her.

Hiei suddenly appeared in front of her, fists balled with a murderous look in his eyes. She was scared for a moment, then he gave a dark chuckle.

"You actually managed to do some damage. I'm surprised, bur next time won't be so easy." He said, before turning around and flitting off into a tree, fists still clenched and ego slightly bruised.

"He's just a bag of fun, isn't he?" she added sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood, but to no avail.

She still got the intense, apprehensive stares of everyone, even Keiko and Kuwabara.

"Would anyone like to explain why I was shooting off demon energy?" she asked.

"It would seem that you've not only learnt how to copy one's technique, but manipulate their energy as well. This is… new." Kurama said.

"… Sorry?" Botan replied "Is that wrong or something, shooting off demon energy? Kinda levels the playing field, right, the fact that I copy energy, I mean, you don't mind, do you Yusuke?"

"Whatever it takes to end this damn thing." Yusuke replied, walking off into the forest.

"Yep, he's warming up to me." She said.

* * *

><p>Yusuke stalked through the forest aimlessly, his eyes to the sky and his hands in his pockets.<p>

"Th' lass done near walloped shrimp there, eh? Saw 'im choppin' down a tree a torchin' th' forest." A cheerful, familiar voice said from high in the trees.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Yusuke said as the wind red haired wind master landed in front of him.

"Why don'cha tell 'er 'bout yer connection to 'er? Ya make it so obvious that'cha wanna." Jin said.

"I train her for the fight then I tell her when she survives, I'll tell her everything when she makes it out alive." Yusuke replied.

"Jus' seems like an awful lotta trouble gittin' 'er ta fergit 'cha like that. All I say is ya better fix it before it gits too broken." Jin said again.

"Oh, 'n by the way, th' shinobi's got yer back, we ain't lett'n ya down this time." Jin said.

"If you guys have my back, why don't you come and train with us, we don't have that much time left before the battles start." Yusuke said.

"Yer right, there be an ill wind blowin' ta tha' border, an' tha' troubles be bigger this time, I sure as hell ain't lett'n that bastard touch me forest again." Jin said.

"Where are the rest of the guys?" Yusuke asked.

"Oh, they be comin' on foot. Don't got tha' skills to master the big blue like I do, don'cha know?" Jin mused, looking towards the temple.

"Ya seem ta have a wee bit of company there." He said as Botan appeared out of the trees.

Yusuke sighed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. She didn't even bother to answer him.

"Jin! Long time no see!" she said to the wind demon.

"True, waddya go by these days, darlin'?" Jin asked.

She gave a laugh. "It's Botan now."

"Aw, pretty flower." He said.

"Well, where's the rest of the gang?" She asked.

"On their way." Yusuke replied, sounding as annoyed as he could.

"We'll be join' ya in yer trainin' from now on." Jin said

"But first I havta find tha slowpokes."

And with that he flew up into the air, zooming through the sky like a jet.

"OH, Toguro be builin' a whole army this time. Mainly C class lackeys and the main six is still intact. We got a job ahead of us, 'n' it ain't gonna be smooth sailin'." He said again, before disappearing.

"Hurry back!" she said after him. Yusuke stared at her as she smiled. He had seen that smile a million times over and it still made him feel like he could do anything. He shook it off.

"We're going back to the temple, now." He said, coming out a little more commanding than he had wanted.

She looked at him and rolled her eyes as he walked before her.

* * *

><p><strong>Sucked, right?<strong>

**Anyway, review, or not, or do, whatever floats yer boat!**

**I hope my Jin wasn't too weird, but it sure was fun writing it!**


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